Courtesy of Current

Welcome gay couples! Come on out and come on in:

The California Supreme Court ruled today that same-sex couples should be permitted to marry, rejecting state marriage laws as discriminatory.

The state high court’s 4-3 ruling was unlikely to end the debate over gay matrimony in California. A group has circulated petitions for a November ballot initiative that would amend the state Constitution to block same-sex marriage, while the Legislature has twice passed bills to authorize gay marriage. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed both.

The long-awaited court opinion, written by Chief Justice Ronald M. George, stemmed from San Francisco’s highly publicized same-sex weddings, which in 2004 helped spur a conservative backlash in a presidential election year and a national dialogue over gay rights.

Several states have since passed constitutional amendments banning gay marriage. Today, 27 states have such amendments.

The reaction to today’s ruling outside the courthouse in San Francisco was one of jubilation as couples, once denied marriage, hugged, kissed, shouted and shook their fists at the sky. Holding up a sign that says, "Life feels different when you’re married," Helen Pontac said she was beyond words.

"Oh, wow," she said. "It felt so good when we got married in San Francisco. This feels better."

She hugged her partner Shelly Bailes. "The best day of my life was when I met Helen," Bailes said. "This was as good as that."

Both women said they have been together for 34 years*. Added Bailes, "This feels good for us. But I can’t imagine what it means for all those young couples with their entire lives ahead of them."

Feel free to move to California because, according to the first comment at Hot Air, plenty of housing should be opening up:

Just watch. A whole bunch of Christians in CA will have to choose to move out of state, rather than facing all of the hits on them. First, the ruling against homeschooling, now this. What’s next? Lawsuits against churches for not marrying gays?

There already is a shirt out there that says “So Many Christians, So Few Lions.”

We’ll make sure to keep the lawns mowed and open a few windows to air out the sanctimony until you get here.

* I think it’s worth noting that Shelly Bailes and Helen Pontac have been together for 34 years which is twelve years longer than both of gay marriage opponent Dennis Prager’s marriages combined.